plan maryland – Jay's Real Estate Blog

PlanMaryland workshops set in region

For the Cumberland Times-News Cumberland Times-News

— CUMBERLAND — People who are interested in PlanMaryland are invited to two workshops to discuss incorporating the economic development interests of Western Maryland into the first state development plan.

The Sustainable Transformation of the Appalachian Region Project, in partnership with The Greater Cumberland Committee, the National Center for Smart Growth and the University of Maryland Extension, will host the workshops.

The first workshop is scheduled for Thursday at the Will O’ The Wisp Restaurant in McHenry; the second workshop will be held June 4 at the Cumberland Country Club. Both workshops will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with lunch provided.

Gerrit Knapp, University of Maryland Extension, and Jason Sartori, Integrated Planning Consultants, will serve as facilitators.

Through funding made possible by the Appalachian Regional Commission, the primary objective of the STAR project team is to prepare a primer for economic development planning for Western Maryland.

The workshops are sponsored with no charge to the general public by TGCC, University of Maryland Extension, Garrett County Department of Economic Development and Chamber of Commerce, and the Western Maryland Health System.

Reservations should be made by Wednesday by contacting Juli McCoy at 301-722-0090 or jmccoy@greatercc.org.

The STAR website, http://smartgrowth.umd.edu/starproject.html, contains data that will help facilitate workshop discussions.

More here.

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O'Malley vows action on septic systems

Governor says growth off sewer lines undermines progress

By Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun

7:37 PM EST, December 29, 2011

Gov. Martin O’Malley promised a push during the coming legislative session to curb proliferation of large housing developments served by septic systems, saying that increased pollution from septic systems is undermining state progress in protecting the Chesapeake Bay.

Meeting with reporters Thursday, the governor took a defiant tone toward critics of his septic-control policies, which some have labeled part of a “war on rural Maryland.” O’Malley said that science is firmly on the side of those who want to control the growth of septic systems — typically used for large-lot developments in outer suburban and rural areas.

“One of the ways to get out of a hole is to stop digging it deeper,” O’Malley said. He pointed to figures showing that the state is making progress in dealing with other forms of pollution while nutrient production from septic systems is increasing.

While the governor made it clear that he would submit legislation, he did not provide specifics. A spokeswoman said it had not been decided whether the bill would be similar to last year’s proposal, which sought to ban some large developments on septic systems close to waterways, but O’Malley indicated that any proposal would include a provision to allow the children of farmers to build homes on family property.

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County will pay $5,000 for lobbyist

Matthew Bieniek Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — Allegany County is all in, with several other Western Maryland counties, after county commissioners voted Thursday to spend $5,000 to help hire a lobbyist to represent the region during the upcoming 2012 General Assembly session. The money will also help pay for a legislative reception at some point during the session.

The vote came during the commissioners regular public business meeting.
“Normally I don’t usually like the idea of lobbying or lobbyists. But we’re in a situation where we need all the help we can get in Annapolis,” said Commissioner Creade Brodie Jr.

Commissioners passed the motion unanimously.

The funds for the lobbyist will come from the county’s other legal and professional funding category, where the funds are already available, said Commission President Michael McKay.

“All the counties are in … Carroll, Frederick, Washington and Allegany,” McKay said in an interview Wednesday. Garrett County earlier declined to participate.
There has been some discussion of expanding the idea to a lobbyist for all of rural Maryland, but that is not on the table currently, McKay said.

“We kind of hope this is going to be a springboard. We’ve not asked any of the other rural counties to jump in on this (at this point),” McKay said.
The other counties involved have all approved at least $5,000, McKay said. “In the future, we’ll be picking that person or persons,” he said.

Representatives of the counties involved will probably discuss a hire at an upcoming Maryland Association of Counties meeting.

Patricia Sweitzer said she didn’t agree with the idea. The area already has elected representatives to represent the county, she said. In addition, she didn’t agree with the funding because lobbyists often do “underhanded” things and lobbying takes place outside the regular legislative process.

The idea of hiring a lobbyist began at this year’s Maryland Association of Counties meeting over the summer, McKay has said.

County leaders discussed significant issues, including the controversial PlanMaryland. The discussions solidified the similarity of interests between the counties, McKay said, which are dominated by rural landscapes and have strong agricultural roots. Many of the more rural counties believe PlanMaryland will usurp local planning decisions.

In the past, Allegany County has at times hired a lobbyist, the most recent being former House Speaker Casper Taylor Jr., although the contract was with the firm Taylor works for, Alexander and Cleaver.

The firm was paid $17,000 a year and expenses, according to past Times-News reports. That contract began in 2008 and has subsequently expired.
McKay has said he’d be interested in “a young gun out to make a name for himself.”
Contact Matthew Bieniek at mbieniek@times-news.com.

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Rural leaders rebel against O'Malley's statewide growth plan

By Nicole Fuller, The Baltimore Sun

9:09 p.m. EDT, October 27, 2011
Bruce Holstein moved to Carroll County eight years ago looking for land to build a house so he could live closer to his grown daughter and her family. He settled on a historic road with no streetlights, flanked by maple and hickory trees, with corn and soybean farms in the distance.

It’s a small-town way of life that Holstein wants to preserve, and he sees no bigger threat than a statewide plan to direct development — a plan set to take effect as early as next month.

Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley’s effort to target growth near existing development — and to withhold funding from local governments that don’t comply — has raised hackles in some corners of Maryland. Some of the most vocal opposition has come from Carroll, where one county commissioner believes the plan is part of a broad scheme orchestrated by the United Nations. In neighboring Frederick County, leaders have called it a communist erosion of democracy.

Mergers, Acquisitions and Takeovers “They want to put us all in one-bedroom condominiums around a city or town,” said Holstein, a retired federal worker from Taylorsville. “They’re going to take that land where farms are now and turn it into green zones, and no one can live there. I don’t need Martin O’Malley to tell me what to do with my land.”

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Garrett County Commissioners Request Deferment Of PlanMaryland Adoption

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Oct. 6, 2011

The Board of Garrett County Commissioners during its public meeting on Tuesday unanimously executed a resolution requesting deferment of the adoption of PlanMaryland. The document will be forwarded to the governor and Maryland Department of Planning personnel.

State officials project Maryland’s population will increase by 1 million during the next 20 years. Proposed by Gov. Martin O’Malley, the initiative examines that issue and, according to plan opponents, gives the state more control over local land-use issues.

“The growth issues that Garrett County will face over the next few years are different than those that are faced in the urban and suburban areas of the state of Maryland and nation,” the commissioners stated in a press release. “The board believes that land management should be left to local jurisdictions, as it is local jurisdictions that best understand their local growth challenges and needs. The proposed plan, as it applies to Garrett County, has the potential to stifle and suppress growth opportunities instead of incentivizing them.”

The commissioners added they did not want the county to become an impoverished ward of the state.

“Garrett County has resources that will allow the county to contribute in our own unique way,” the officials stated. “Embracing and acknowledging diversity gives our state and ultimately county and municipal governments strength and resiliency.”

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Rural Garrett County, Md., seeks exemption from state's proposed anti-sprawl regulations

Last Updated: October 05, 2011 – 2:13 pm

OAKLAND, Md. — A rural county in western Maryland is asking the administration of Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley to exempt extremely slow-growing counties from proposed regulations for curbing urban sprawl.

The Garrett County Commissioners adopted a resolution Tuesday recommending that counties with less than 1 percent population growth over the last decade be exempt from PlanMaryland. Such a provision would apply to Garrett and Allegany counties, according to the 2010 census.

The commissioners are also joining a number of counties in asking the state to defer the adoption of PlanMaryland for one year.

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O’Malley: Garrett should take caution with Plan Maryland

From Staff Reports Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Garrett County commissioners are asking Gov. Martin O’Malley to take a cautious approach in implementing PlanMaryland.

The commissioners adopted a resolution Tuesday recommending that counties with less than 1 percent population growth over the last decade be exempt from PlanMaryland. Such a provision would apply to Garrett and Allegany counties, according to the 2010 census.

The state Department of Planning is scheduled to submit a final version of the regulations to the governor by mid-November.

PlanMaryland is O’Malley’s initiative to improve land development and create more cooperation between state and local agencies and was unveiled in April. Since then, a number of counties have voiced concern about the program, fearing that the authority of local planning agencies would be usurped.

In their resolution, approved Tuesday, the commissioners said, “The growth issues that Garrett County will face over the next few years are different than those faced in the urban and suburban areas of the state of Maryland and nationwide. The board believes that land management should be left to local jurisdictions as it is local jurisdictions that best understand their local growth challenges and needs.

“This proposed plan, as it applies to Garrett County, has the potential to stifle and suppress growth opportunities instead of incentivizing them. The board does not want to become an impoverished ward of the State of Maryland.

“Garrett County has resources that will allow the county to contribute to our own unique way. Embracing and acknowledging diversity gives our state and ultimately county and municipal governments strength and resiliency.”

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PlanMaryland for Dummies: What Is It, Why Do I Care?

By Kym Byrnes

Over the next 20 years, there will be nearly 1 million more people, over 400,000 additional households and more than 600,000 new jobs in Maryland, according to the PlanMarylandwebsite.

PlanMaryland is the state’s first plan for sustainable growth and development. It will emphasize planning that encourages Maryland residents to be more efficient and less wasteful of valuable resources, according to thePlanMaryland website.

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Category: plan maryland

PlanMaryland workshops set in region

O'Malley vows action on septic systems

County will pay $5,000 for lobbyist

Rural leaders rebel against O'Malley's statewide growth plan

Garrett County Commissioners Request Deferment Of PlanMaryland Adoption

Rural Garrett County, Md., seeks exemption from state's proposed anti-sprawl regulations

O’Malley: Garrett should take caution with Plan Maryland

PlanMaryland for Dummies: What Is It, Why Do I Care?

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